"We cannot prove that those are in error who tell us that society has reached a turning point; that we have seen our best days. But so said all before us, and with just as much apparent reason. On what principle is it that, when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?"

How do computers work? Well one important aspect of this is that any sentence in human language can be represented in binary code. I found an excellent, brief account of this in the well known book "The Enigma of Intelligence."